One of the questions that I am dying to have answered, is how the releases will be dealt with. One of the things I loved about how Peter did LOTR was he filmed so much it allowed for reams of additional scenes to be added to the Extended Edition DVD releases. Does the Jackson / GDT team intend to continue this with these two films ...? December releases would also be cool to have continuity.

Also, am I the only one that is really excited to see the second film visualized as I have spent years thinking / imagining the novels (The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The LOTR) however I've not spent nearly that amount of time imaging the events that took place that will be brought to life in the second film. And while there is ample material to research, it will also be like reading a new book about Middle Earth ... yes?